Flare



March 23, 1937.

L. L. DRIGGS. JR

FLARE,

s shets-sheet 2 Filed June 4, 1934 LOUIS 1"..DRIGG-5Jg :5w

March 23, 1937.

Fie.6.

L. L. DRIGG. .1YR 2,074,683

FLARE Filed June 4, 1934 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 www Patentes Mar. 23,` 'i937FLARE' i v 'Louisl..nriggs,.ir.,'rippeanne Cimone Application June 4,1934, serial No. '128,330

1o claims. (ci. 10a-24) This invention ,relates to improvements inflares', and vhas for its object to provide a, flare adapted to bedischarged from an airplane in such a manner that the igniting of thenare will take s place at some distance from the airplane.

It i's an object of this invention to provide a flare tube, with meansfor discharging the candle .therefrom and causingv it to ignite afterthe candle has passed from the mouth of the tube some o distance.

It is also an object of theA invention to provide,

in' connection with an airplane, means for supporting and discharging aflare so there is first ig'- nited a time fuse, which :serves to. ignitethe cani dle material which is supported by means'of a parachute,suitably attached to the candle material. It is my particular objecttoprovide a iiare` whi'ch is driven.'with its parachute, without beingignited from the tube; I particularly prefer an 3 explosiveiior drivingthe nare and its parachute from the tube.` I also particularly prefer ahermetically sealed tube which can bev only successfully opened by theexplosion of the powder,- constituting the expelling means, and theflare candle and its parachute thrust member must be of such characteras to drive off the hermetlcal seal of Vthetube. Y

4The second particular object of my invention isto'initiate the iiringof the ,nare only a'fter the, are and its 4parachute have completelycleared the tube so there can be no within 'the tube.

Thethird particular object of my invention, as a further' precaution, isto ignite only a time fuse by the ilring means, which is rst initiatedafter the tube has' been'evacuated. This fuse permits the parachute andits flare several seconds of travel .in order t'o completely clear theplane before the ignition composition i's ignited on the endy of theflare candle to blow oil the cap and ignite the candle. I thus insureabsolute functioning and. delay of functioning to entirely clear theflare, notionly from thetube but also from the vicinity 'of the plane,before the iiare is ignited.` This sequence of operations is essential.

By using powder for expelling the are candle and its parachute I am'enabled to operate the are on a remote place on the plane by using anelectric current for initiating the explosion, and

ignitionV of the flare therefore avoiding the use of explosives whichlto securefa perfectly uniformly functioning piece of apparatus,uninfluenced by altitude and moisture conditions.

-These and other advantages will appear from the following descriptiontaken in connection with the drawings.

Referring to the drawings:

"Figure 1 is a Vertical longitudinal. section for supporting theparachute in connection with the candle, together with the expelling andigniting instrumentalities.

Figure 2 is a view of the flare tube, similar to that shown in Figure 1but with the ilare candle and the parachute in the rst position afterbeing expelled. In this figure the candle and parachute are stillconnected' to the tube by means of a cable but are beneath the lower endof the tube about six inches.

lFigure3 showsthe upper end of the candle after the fuse has beenignited through the action of the cable and the weight of the candle. n

Figure 4 shows the candle supported by the parachute in open positionafter the candle material has taken iire.-

Figure 5 is a section substantially on the line 5`5 of Figure 6. y

Figure 6 is an enlarged vertical section with l parts broken away.

Fory the purpose of supporting and directing` the are and its parachutewhen it is expelled, there is provided a tube I, which is cylindrical inshape and has at its upper end a funnelshaped crown-piece 2, whichextends upwardly. For the purpose of supporting the tube there isprovided, on some suitable part of the airplane or other structure, abracket 3 which has a top plate 4 provided with a hole or opening 5through which the crown-piece 2 extends. l

Between the top plate 4 and the upper end of the tube and around thecrown-piece is a rubber ring 6, adapted to de aden the recoil when thecandle and parachute are expelled. The tube is held on the bracket bymeans of bolts 'l which pass through the upper part of the tube and thetop plate ll.V In the crown-piece is a cylindrical hollow plug 8, whichhas therein an expelling charge 9 and suitable means for ignitingthe-charge for-expelling the are. Adjacent the upper end of the tube andspaced from the crown-piece is an 'annular gasket l0. In the upper endof the tube and spaced from'the'gasket I0 is a container Il havingtherein candle material I 2s Embedded in the upper end of the candlemathrough the flare tube, the candle and the tube l terlal are primerpellets I3, while on top of candle material and these pellets is aprimer layer I4, which has thereon a Wooden block I5, in the center ofwhich is a cavity I1. Between the cavity and the periphery of the woodenblock are two or more pockets I8 connected to the cavity by means ofholes I9. Theperipheral ends of the pockets I8 are connected to thecavity I1 by means of vent passageways 20.

over it a cap I B, which has an upper part extending inwardly betweenthe wooden block and the gasket and spun at 2| over the gasket I0. Thecavity I1 is covered by means of a round disc. or plate 22 held on thewooden block by means of small nails 23. Extending from the plate 22 arewires 24, one for each slot, extending from the cavity through the holeI9, into the slot.

The end of the wire within the slot is coiled and has thereon a strikingcomposition 25, which ignltes the match head composition '26a whenpulled through it. A quick match material 26 increases the flame toinsure the ignition" of.. a

delay fuse 2I located in vertically disposed holes in the wooden block.These fuses are two-second fuses. That is, after burning two secondsthey will ignite a quick match material 29 located in a channelway 28 inthe bottom of the wooden 30 block adjacent the primer layer I4.

The plate 22 has attached thereto a clip 30 to which one end of a wirecable 3| is attached. The other end of this wire cable is attached toone end cf a piece of stranded wire flexible cable 32, which has itsother end attached toa detachable metal head 33 supported in the upperend of the tube beneath the rubber ring 6. The exible cable prevents thekinking oi the cable 3i. The cables are positioned beneath the parts arein position for expulsion. The lower end of the container II is closedby means of a closure 34, which has attached thereto an eye 35 whichextends through a hole in a felt partition 36.

To this eye 35 isattached one end of a cable 3l, to the other end ofwhich is attached in the usual manner the parachute 38 housed in thelower end of the tube beneath the felt partition 36. This parachute inits folded condition is inclcsed within the lower end of the tube, and

has around it a tube or container composed of two semi-circular parts39. These parts are made of pastebcard or some similar material, andserve as a thrust block for forcing the closure 4U from the lower end ofthe tube. This closure 40 has a peripheral liange 4I- provided with agroove 42 for containing a rubber washer or gasket 43, supported in thegroove between the ilange 4I and the lower peripheral part of the tube.This washer pr gasket 43 is supported on the lower end of the tube bymeans of a shoulder 41S, which prevents the closure 4I) from beingremoved without the application 4'of force.

Figure l shows the are as supported by some part of the airplane, readyfor expulsion. As

shown here the flare as a whole is housed within a tube. When it isdesired to expel the flare the expelling charge is ignited. 'Ihis chargeis sufiicient to force the candle and the parachute from the tube, andalso sufficient to force the closure 40 from the lower end of the tube.After the candle and parachute have been expelled from the tube theparts assume the position shown in Figure 2. At this time thelpperend'the ' materials within the slots. 'I'he upper end of the container IIhas tting crown-piece and above the gaskets I0 when theA of the candleis about six inches beneath the lower end of the tube, -and is ready forthe match actionto ignite the fuse, and through the fuse the matchmaterial and the primer parts.

The force of the discharge and the weighto the are are sufllcient todraw the wires 24 through lthe holes Iii,l thereby igniting the matchmatch materials causes the fuses to ignite, which after about twoseconds, will-cause the match materials in the channelways 28 t igniteand also ignite the primer layer.. It requires several seconds to ignitethe candle material after the are has been expelled from thetube. Inthese sev-7 eral seconds the airplane has left the flare some distancebehind so that its burning will in no manner endanger the airplane.After the ilare material has become ignited the flare and the parachuteassume the position shown in Figure 4.

It will be understood that I desire to comprehend within my inventionsuch modilications as come within the s cope of my. claims and myinvention.

Having thus fully described x'ny invention,'what `I claim as new anddesire to secure Letters Patent, is:

l. In combination, a tube, a container in the tube, candle material inthe container, primer pellets in the top of the candle material,a'primer layer on the pellets and the candle material, a block on thetop of the container, lsaid`block having a central cavity, slotsAconnected at one end to the cavity and vent passageways from the otherends of the slots to the cavity, a fuse extending from each slot to theprimer layer, means to expel the container and candle material from. thetube, and means to ignite` the fuses after the container has left thetube.

2. In combination, a tube, a container in the tube, candle material inthe container, primer pellets in the top of the' candle material, aprimer layer on the. pellets and the candle material, a block on the topof the container, said block having a central cavity, slots connected atone end -to the cavity and vent passageways' from the other ends of thes'lots to the cavity, a fuse extending from each 'slot to the primerlayer,

means to expel the container and candle material from the tube, andmeans to ignite the fuses after the container has left the tube', saidlastnamed means including match material in the slots and strikersextending from the tube through the cavity into the-slots.

3. In combination, a' tube, a ,container in the tube, candle material inthe container, primer pellets in the top `of the candle material, aprimer layer on the pellets and the candle material. a blockvon the topof the container, said block having a' central cavity, slots connectedat one end to the cavity, and vent passageways from the other ends ofthe slots to the cavity, a fuse extending from each slot tothe primerlayer, means to expel the container and candle material from the tube,and means to ignite the fuses after the container has left the tube,said lastnamed means including 4a plate on the cavity, means to connectthe plate to the tube, match material in the slots, and strikersextendingfrom the plate into the slots.

4. In combination, a tube, a candle n 'laterial4 and container thereforin the tube, a block on the container, said block having therein acavity. slots, each slot being connected at one end to the cavity, avent passageway from the other The igniting of the 2,074,683 end of eachslot to the cavity-.and a fuse extending from 'each slot to ignite thecandle material, and means acting in the slots to ignite the fuses. 5.'In' combination, a tube, a candle material and container therefor inthe tube, a block on the container, said block having therein a cavity,

slots, each slot being connectedat one end to the cavity, a ventpassageway from the other L)- end oi. each slot to the cavity and a fuseextending from each slot to ignite` the candle materiaL,

and means acting in the slots to ignite the fuses, said means,including' a match 'material in the slots and strikers connected to thetube.

5 6. In combination, a tube, a candle material and container therefor inthe tube, a block on the container, said block havingvtherein a cavity,slots, each slot being connected at one end to the cavity, a ventpassageway from the other end o of each slot to the cavity and a fuseextending from each slot to ignite the candle material, and means actingin' the slots to ignite the fuses, said means comprising a plate overthe cavity, means to connect the plate to the tube and strikers ex- 5tending from the plate into the slots.

'1. In a iare,a hermetically sealed tube, means for 'expelling the flareand a parachute connected thereto from the tube and simultaneouslyrupturing the hermetical sea1,means to ignite the 0 are after it leavesthe tube and clears the plane by Atravelling a. predetermined distancefrom the p1ane, explosive means within the tube adapted to drive theflare and itsfparachute from the tube, thrustmeans protecting theparachute in- 5 terposed between the hermetical seal ofthe tube and theiiare, means .mechanically connecting i said iiare to the tube `adaptedto initiate the ignition of the. :dare only after the flare has left thetube, and a delay action fuse ignited by said ignition means adaptedtoignite the flare afterA it has left a plane to which the tube isattached an appreciable interval.

8. In a flare, a tube attached to a plane, means in the tube to expelthe contents thereof, a flare and parachute in the tube, said iare beingconnected by a cable to. the tube, the cable being longer than the tube,a. time fuse connected to the iiare, and means te ignite the fuse afterthe iiare leaves the tube and the cable is extendedA 'to' its fulllength, and an ignition means actuated only when the cable is extendedto its full length and the flare is outside of thetube and apredetermined distance therefrom.

9. In a flare', a tube adapted to contain a llame;Y

a ilare and parachute in the tube, an explosive v adapted to drive theviiare and 4parachute from the tube without ignitlng the flare, means toprevent the ignition of the flare, and mechanical means attached.h tothe tube and the are for initiating the lightingof the are afteritleaves theltube and .at a predetermined distance therefrom.,

l0. In a are, a tube adapted to contain a flare, a flare and parachutein the tube, an explosive adapted to drive the are and parachute fromthe tubewithout igniting the flare, means to prevent the ignition of thefilare, mechanical means attached to the tube and the are for initiatingthe lighting of the' are after it leaves the tube, and a time fuseignited by said -ignition means and adapted toignite the are after anappreciable interval of becoming detached from the tube and themechanical means.

LOUIS L.' DRIGGS, Jn.

